I admit that I am the first to have heart palpitations the moment I hear a problem begin, “A train leaves a station 500 miles east of the city traveling at 60 m.p.h…..”. Yet given time, I am confident I can calculate the answer to a word problem, in part because my early teaching career […]
common core
Posted inFeatured, Fine Arts, Opinion
What If You Are Teaching the Next Picasso?
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] My wife and I just finished our honeymoon tour of Spain, and one place that put me in awe was the Museo Picasso in Barcelona. This collection showcased a completely different […]
Posted inCommon Core, Featured, Instruction & Curriculum, Mathematics
Crazy New Math
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] I love math! I find fascination in numbers and how they work together. But, I also remember being confused in math classes, especially in upper level math. Often the procedures […]
Posted inCommon Core, Current Events in Education, From the Front Lines
{Editorial} A Teacher's Experience with PARCC in Tennessee
By Jon Alfuth In my sophomore year of high school, my AP European History teacher gave us a test on ancient Rome in week two of the course. The problem? We hadn’t learned anything about Roman history! To this day I still don’t understand her decision, but the experience left me with a strong distaste […]
Posted inCommon Core, From the Front Lines, Uncategorized
Ed Reform's Atari Problem
My cousin, John Michael, had the first Atari I ever saw. Not long after, my cousin Philip got one. I went to their houses every chance I got, and while I was there I hogged their video game machines as much as I could. I still remember the spongy feel and new plastic smell of […]
Posted inCommon Core, How to Fix Education, Opinion, School Improvement, Uncategorized
Common Standards, Disparate Lives
I get the push for common standards, I really do. Poor students shouldn’t be doomed to lesser expectations. As much as I dislike George Bush’s No Child Left Behind and all the unintended(?) negative consequences it has had on public education, I must admit that the “soft bigotry of low expectations” was and is a […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, School Improvement, Social Studies
Student Motivation Starts With Zombies!
Incentives inspire learning because incentives drive choices. I learn this every time I buy a Starbucks coffee and receive a free app or song download. My app  can guide me by GPS to any coffee shop where I use free wifi and earn stars that eventually gain me a free coffee. This has me wondering […]
Posted inCommon Core, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Step Up and Teach- Part 3: ELA Speaking and Listening Standards
Read Part 1 of this series about Reading Standards here. Read Part 2 of this series about Writing Standards here. [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] With the push of state testing and No Child Left […]